~ A weekly guide to Bach cantatas according to the Lutheran Church year

No cantata for Trinity 12 in 1724

Six weeks ago, it was easy to guess why there was a cantata missing from Bach’s collection of all-new chorale cantatas he wrote in the summer of 1724. Bach had probably been granted a short leave of absence because his presence was required in Köthen. But for today’s missing cantata there doesn’t seem to be a logical reason.

After his death, Bach’s compositions were divided over his sons. Most of them took care of these manuscripts, but apparently Wilhelm Friedemann often sold his father’s music to supplement his income. And of course it was always possible that the score and parts were at one point used by a colleague or relative and got displaced, or burnt in a fire.

While we don’t know how Bach’s cantata for the 12th Sunday after Trinity in 1724 disappeared, I can assure you all the other cantatas he wrote for the fall of 1724 as well as the 1724/1725 Christmas season did survive, so please keep following this blog. There are many cantatas coming up that I am not familiar with, so it will be a great journey of discovery for me, and it is great to know that I have so many readers traveling with me 🙂

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